Control, ownership, and protection of personal and professional autonomy

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Beyond regulating how work task technologies are introduced or used in the workplace, many union agreements establish protections for workers’ autonomy, identity, and authorship. These provisions help ensure that technology does not erode control over one’s work outputs, professional discretion, or personal information. They also address liability, privacy, and the right to be consulted on how one’s voice, likeness, or intellectual contributions are used or represented.

This section includes four types of protections:

• Control over identity, authorship, and work outputs: Contracts may clarify ownership rights over materials created by employees, set boundaries on reproduction or reuse, and ensure individuals retain input over how their work or likeness is presented.
• Protection of personal privacy and autonomy: Agreements often restrict employer access to personal accounts, devices, and off-duty conduct, and prohibit retaliation for private activity that is lawful and unrelated to work duties.
• Right to discretion and professional judgment: These clauses affirm the continued authority of professionals—such as clinicians, writers, or journalists—to exercise judgment and define when and how technology may be used in their roles.
• Protection against technology liabilities and losses: Many provisions shield employees from financial or legal consequences caused by technology-related failures, third-party errors, or employer-required systems.

Control over identity, authorship, and work outputs

Union contracts may define who holds ownership of creative, instructional, or technical work products and under what conditions those materials may be used or distributed. These provisions support transparency and consent around recordings, inventions, and intellectual contributions.

Examples:

• “Any audio-visual tapes of the classes made in the host district are the property of the host district and the district shall make such tapes available for the teacher’s personal, professional, non-commercial use.… The District shall not make any audio/visual tapes without the knowledge and consent of the sending teacher. It is expected that the teacher will consent to making of tapes for the sole purpose of aiding students enrolled in the course. All tapes shall be erased or destroyed at the end of the school year at the discretion of the teacher.” (WTA-OLMS29)
• “Course materials [for remote learning] shall be protected in accordance with the [Employer’s] Ownership of Course Materials Policy [which states that “ownership of the rights to Course Materials, including copyright, shall reside with the Designated Instructional Appointee who creates them.”]. Third party vendors shall not have any ownership of course materials in a learning management system (LMS).” (UC-AFT-PCBA10)
• “The [Employer] may record rehearsal services with a “home-type” video camera (e.g., “camcorder”), provided that the camera shall be set so that the frame shall include only the Conductor, and shall exclude Orchestra Members. No copies shall be made of the videotape, and it shall be used exclusively for study purposes. At the conclusion of the Season, all video tapes made under this provision shall be erased in the presence of the Union Steward or another designated representative of [Union].” (MA-AFM-OLMS33)
• “In the event a player believes that any Player Audio excerpt would be prejudicial or detrimental to him if replayed in any non-game programming (e.g., home videos) or other publicity or promotional content, and notifies the [League] to that effect in writing within one hundred twenty (120) hours of the recording of such audio, then neither the [League] nor any League-related entity, following receipt of such notice from the player, shall incorporate, or license others to incorporate, such excerpt into any such content.” (NBPA-OLMS1)
• “Employees shall be permitted to retain ownership of inventions conceived or developed by them while performing work on any of the represented projects as an employee for the Company providing, however that the Government and the Company shall have shop rights extending to all such inventions, which rights shall include the non-exclusive royalty-free rights on the part of the Company, to use such inventions and to make, have made, and sell products, parts or tools incorporating such inventions; and on the part of others making products parts or tools for the Company (to be by the Company or in its products), to incorporate or use such inventions In such products, parts or tools, on in the manufacture thereof.” (IAMAW-OLMS78)

Protection of personal privacy and autonomy

These clauses help protect boundaries between work and personal life by limiting employer access to social media, personal devices, and non-public information. Some provisions also restrict how data may be used or prohibit tracking without consent.

Examples:

• “No employee is obliged to accept a contact invitation from a manager, supervisor, or any other employee on a personal, password protected social media site. No employee shall be requested or required to disclose a password to a personal social media site, email account, or other password-protected communications system.” (TNG-CWA-PCBA34)
• “Management will not require employees to provide passwords or other access to an employee’s personal social media sites.… Provided employees do not use their official position/title, employees are free to engage alone or with others in personal activities and make personal comments about the operations of the Government in general and the Department, so long as such comments are otherwise lawful. If Management becomes aware of any postings on an employee’s social media site that are a violation of this section or any other rule, regulation, law, or policy, Management will bring that to the employee’s attention immediately in writing and provide a reasonable amount of time after receipt of the written request to remove the offending post. Management will consider voluntary removal of any such posting a mitigating factor in any disciplinary action.” (NFFE-OPM61)
• “The Company shall not prohibit bargaining unit employees from freely expressing their opinions in their personal capacities, including but not limited to interviews, speaking engagements, social media, office interaction and outside written work as long as it is not bigoted, harassing, offensive, or threatening to a reasonable person.” (WGAE-PCBA42)
• “The employee will not be required to carry the government furnished mobile device during off-duty hours unless in on-call or stand-by status.” (NAAE-OPM18)
• Employees may voluntarily share their personal cell phone numbers with their employer. However, they will not be obligated to use personal devices for work purposes or disclose personal device passwords for administrative investigations. (AFGE-OPM96)
• “The Parties agree that the Company may utilize technology to administer any process in this Agreement as long as it does not violate the Agreement.… Such technology will not be utilized to communicate work assignments or tasks [as it has been used with another bargaining unit].” (IAMAW-PCBA50)
• “The [Employer] has determined that information derived from [workplace technology system] will only be used to identify aggregate systemic or organizational operational and/or safety issues and will not be attributed to or be used to identify individual employees.” (NATCA-OPM100)
• “The Company will not surveil, search, or track Employee-owned devices, except with the agreement of the employee.… The Company shall not search personal e-mail accounts, non-public social media accounts, or other non-public personal electronic communication accounts of employees, and employees will not be required to disclose personal account names, usernames, or passwords to the Company. An employee’s refusal to provide exculpatory information from their [personal devices or] personal accounts shall result in the employee being precluded from relying upon such evidence in any disciplinary arbitration. The Company may make appropriate negative inferences for the failure to provide access to the [device or] accounts in the context of an investigation, but failure to provide access to the accounts shall not in itself be grounds for discipline.” (WGAE-PCBA76)
• “Employees have a legally protected right to communicate on social media with coworkers and the [Union] for mutual aid and protection. Notwithstanding any other provision of this policy, employees have a legal right to speak candidly and critically on social media about union activity, terms and conditions of employment, collective bargaining, personnel policies and contract terms, and complaints, grievances or litigation regarding working conditions. Employees are encouraged to resolve problems internally before making it known on social media.” (TNG-CWA-PCBA34)

Right to discretion and professional judgment

Agreements in healthcare, media, and research settings often affirm that technology should support, not replace, human decision-making. Provisions may prohibit employers from requiring use of certain tools or allow workers to opt out of crediting AI-influenced outputs to their names.

Examples:

• “Clinical technology is intended to complement, not diminish, nursing skills, judgment and decision-making. The use of technology shall not limit the Nurse’s exercise of clinical judgment in assessment, evaluation, planning and implementation of care, nor from acting as a patient advocate. New technology may affect nursing duties, but shall not be used to replace the Nurse’s role in delivery of care to patients.” (CNA-PCBA51)
• Writers may opt to use Generative AI (GAI) in their work, but they must secure the company’s approval before doing so and follow the company’s GAI policies on ethics, privacy, and copyright. A company cannot mandate writers to use GAI tools to generate literary material. However, the company can require the use of GAI tools for non-creative tasks, such as checking for copyright infringement or plagiarism. (WGA-PCBA1)
• “Technology that involves the use of generative artificial intelligence, including machine learning or deep learning, may be used by employees to supplement or assist in their news gathering, such as the collection, organization, recording or maintenance of information, in compliance with AP’s standards of journalistic ethics.” (TNG-CWA-PCBA33)
• “Employees may decline to have their byline, or otherwise decline to be credited, on any content where GAI has been used in a substantial capacity to alter or create the original content.” (WGAE-PCBA65)
• “Upon the request of a bargaining unit employee, the Company will include a distinct signifier on published editorial content that was created with the substantive use of GAI if the bargaining unit employee substantially contributed to the creation of the content and the use of GAI in creating the content (either by the bargaining unit employee or the Company) was substantial. Such signifiers may include, but are not limited to, disclaimers in the byline, in show description, or in the audio or video content. Where the Company has used a digital replica to translate a material quantity of audio content originally recorded by the bargaining unit employee into another language using the employee’s recognizable voice, then upon the request of such bargaining unit employee, the Company will provide a distinct signifier.” (WGAE-PCBA103) 
• “Scientists shall exercise their independent professional judgment in their practice of medical technology within the scope of the law of the State of California, the rules and regulations of the Clinical Laboratory Act and the policies of The [Employer].” (ESC-IFPTE-PCBA86)

Protection against technology liabilities and losses

Contracts may include indemnification clauses and safeguards that protect workers from blame or liability when technology malfunctions, when data is lost due to system errors, or when company equipment fails. These provisions help ensure that employees are not penalized for problems beyond their control.

Examples:

• Management agrees that recipients of email messages are not responsible for the content, attachments, or other mailing list recipients, and shall not be held liable for simple receipt of the message. Management agrees that employees will not be responsible for unknowingly opening an email/ social media containing a virus, script, or agent that the Management fails to detect or any content of shared social media messages.… Management agrees that recipients of any type of social media are not responsible for the content, images, links, attachments, entries, comments, other recipients, etc., and shall not be held liable for simple receipt of the social media. (NFFE-OPM61; AFGE-OPM39)
• “The Company shall defend, protect, indemnify and hold the employee harmless for Company directed, job related communications on social media sites or equivalent communications accessible to the public.… Employees shall not be responsible nor disciplined for the communications of another person on social media or equivalent communications sites.” (TNG-CWA-PCBA34)
• The Company will protect the employee against liability and necessary costs (including legal defense) from claims linked to AI Systems usage or resulting output while the employee was performing assigned duties as long as the employee is not negligent, follows company policies regarding AI usage, and cooperates with any legal proceedings. The Company will extend its insurance coverage to include the employee where applicable. (IATSE-PCBA46)
• “Employees shall be held harmless for loss and/or degradation of data or other work products that result from contractor, equipment, or software problems. Management will extend deadlines if appropriate to consider lost time and productivity due to time spent by an employee working with the IT service provider to resolve computer problems.” (NFFE-OPM61)
• “The [Employer] will insure the … tablets and cellular phones against theft, damage, and loss. Nurses will not be liable for loss or damage of equipment, software program(s) and/or information due to circumstances beyond their control (e.g., crash of system, computer hard drive failure, telephone transmission failure, theft, accident, etc.).” (ONA-AFT-OLMS65)
• “In case of internet failure due to a service provider’s outage at a Representative’s reported remote work location, Representatives will receive compensation for up to 48 hours after the outage begins for previously scheduled shifts impacted by the outage only if the Representative timely provides detailed confirmation of the outage affecting their remote work location from the Representative’s service provider.… In the event of damage to or failure of Company equipment, the Representative will be paid for previously scheduled shifts until the issue is resolved (e.g., new equipment is provided) so long as the Representative reports the damage or failure as soon as practical and the damage or failure is not due to intentional or negligent acts by the Representative, as determined by the Company or its technology partners.” (IAMAW-PCBA52)
• “Employees shall not be held financially liable for replacing the [Personal Identity Verification] PIV Card in the event the card is lost or stolen.… Time spent obtaining a temporary PIV Card will not be charged against an employee’s leave.” (NATCA-OPM100)
• “The [Employer] shall ensure that the use of the PIV card for computer access or any other access shall be easy-to-use and as efficient as current means of entering passwords. In the event the Employee’s password is forgotten the [Employer] shall provide Employees a method to reset their password. Employees must safeguard their badge. Employees shall not be charged for damaged, lost, or stolen PIV cards. Employees will not be disciplined for accidental loss or damage to a PIV card. Employees must notify their administrative officer of a lost, damaged, disabled or stolen card as soon as they can. In the interim, Employees will be issued a temporary badge for physical access only until the [Employer] ID badge clearance process has been completed. There will be no cost to Employees, however if the policy changes, the Union shall be notified and permitted to negotiate such a change to completion prior to implementation.” (AFGE-OPM117)

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